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Tuesday, 28 July 2015

Cape Town Marathon Coffee Date II: The Long Run From Hell

We're one week closer to the Sanlam Cape Town Marathon - aaaaaaaaaaaaaah! And although things are going really well training-wise, I must admit that I clocked the long run from hell last week - ever had one of those? The run itself went quite well - no niggles or pains, but let's just say that I now have a very good idea what not to eat before race day. Holy moly! Four bathroom bush stops later, and I wont' be going anywhere near pudding and custard before September 20th... Anyway, moving on.

As far as race-day gear goes, I'm still playing around with different options on long-run days. Shoe-wise, I'm leaning towards the Asics Gel Nimbus 16s for race day: I've had zero issues with them so far, plus I ran the 2011 Paris Marathon in a previous version of the Nimbus, with zero blistering or other problems. Why mess with what works, right?Clothing-wise I'm loving my new tights from adidas - they're medium compression tights and so, so comfortable on the run. Plus they're funky - bonus! Being compression gear, they're quite tight in the, ahem, bum area, and I keep on getting these visions of the tights ripping open at the butt seam mid-race - something that will obviously be equally traumatic for me and those running behind me, ha! Here's hoping that those seams stay in place.

If there's one thing I've learnt through the years, it's that what you do in between runs is just as important as running itself. So while I usually pay attention to rest, recovery, refuelling and hydration, I'm extra vigilant about these things leading up to the marathon. Coconut water is still my No. 1 post-run hydration choice - I literally glug it down after each run! I also keep my water bottle with me throughout the day and drink whenever I'm thirsty. Sleep-wise we're doing pretty good too: Both Miss K and Baby J are sleeping through the night these days (hooray!), so we're all getting a sweet 8 - 9 hours each night. Bliss, I tell you.

Yay! It's soo close! Sorry to hear about your long run! Tummy issues are never fun while running, especially on a long run. That coconut water with pineapple sounds yummy! I'm not such a fan of regular coconut water, but we cans still be friends because our watches match;)